Dakar - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the air quality like at post (good/moderate/bad)? Are there seasonal air quality issues? Does the air quality have an impact on health?
I'd call air quality moderate and seasonal. February/March can be quite bad in the Harmattan when Saharan dust blows through for episodes lasting typically a few days to a week. Another culprit is the poor fuel quality and widespread use of diesel; vehicles are probably 80% diesel if I had to hazard a guess. However, for much of the year the ocean breeze does clear out the worst of it. - Oct 2024
Air is a problem. The dust here can get very bad and can impact your health if you are susceptible. Take air purifiers. - Apr 2022
There are air quality issues between pollution and the sands from the Sahara, but it seems to come and go. It did not bother me most of the year, but it was unpleasant for people with asthma. - Jul 2020
Surprisingly bad from January – April. This is when the harmattan winds blow sand, dust, and all sorts of things you don’t want to breath from the Sahel into the Atlantic. I know many people who had lung infections during those dust storms. I would do some additional research if you have strong allergies or suffer from asthma. - Dec 2019
Air is really bad; that's been the hardest for our family. On clear days it's just beautiful you almost forget the bad days! - Dec 2018
The air is super dirty here, smog and dust, and poop particles in the air. I think you will get sick, as it just seems to happen. - Dec 2018
Terrible, but it's a geographic issue. There is dust and sand everywhere, and dust storms are terrible at some times of the year. It's been difficult to manage my allergies here, and some childhood asthma has resurfaced after being dormant for decades. There is mold as well. You have to be careful. - Jun 2017
The air quality is fine except when the harmattan and winds are blowing. So January - March or April, the sky can be filled with dust for days at a time. - Apr 2016
Fair to good. For a few weeks a year, winds from Mali/Mauritania bring a lot of dust. Other times its fine. - Aug 2015
The air quality is not the best because of burning trash and car exhaust. - Aug 2014
Air quality is relatively poor, many old vehicles, no emissions control. Very dusty. Sea air and humidity means some things deteriorate relatively quickly. - Apr 2014
Ranges from fair to horrible. There are zero emission standards here, and taxis and buses have some of the blackest smoke you have ever seen coming out of them. This is added to plumes of burning trash -- which is their method of waste removal. Also, Dakar is subject to dust storms at times, which will nearly block sunlight for days. - Jun 2013
Probably moderate to unhealthy. During harmattan, there's just a haze/cloud of inescapable dust, and it seems like there are more and more cars; so it's unlikely to get better. - Mar 2013
Unhealthy. Some people picked up a cough that lasted for months, or even their entire tour. I rarely get sick, but during the dusty months I was sick all the time. - Oct 2012
Mixed -- some days are clear and sunny, others hazy with airborne dust. Many cars use diesel and the fumes can be awful. Some area have sewage problems and trash burning is a daily event. - Mar 2012
Dusty. Allergies are common prior to the start of the non-dry season. Our potentially asthmatic son has a harder time here with all the dust in the air. With so little rain and so much construction taking place there is inevitably sand blowing about. You can see the blue sky essentially every day of the year. - Aug 2011
Quite nice good during dry season, very hot and sticky with low-quality air during rainy season - Jan 2011
Good to Moderate. Some bad days during the winter as the Harmaton winds blow dust and sand from the Sahara. - Feb 2010
Not that bad - but at certain points of the year it is quite dusty. - Feb 2010
